Crowds flood Clinton’s antique streets
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Shoppers crowd Commerce Street on Saturday morning checking out vendors at the Clinch River Fall Antique Festival. The vendors were moved a block over to Commerce because of construction on Market Street. - G. Chambers Williams III
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Kathie Creasy, right, owner of Granny’s Attic antiques on Market Street, waits on cus- tomers during the fall Clinch River Antique Festival last Friday in Historic Downtown Clinton. - G. Chambers Williams III
Even with Market Street and part of Main Street closed for construction, Clinton’s downtown merchants say they had a highly successful fall antique festival last weekend.
“Friday was a weird day, with customer traffic off and on, but Saturday was great, with wall-to-wall people all day,” said Kathie Creasy, owner of Granny’s Attic antiques at 370 Market St.
“We opened at 9 a.m. Saturday, and as the day went on, we were absolutely covered up,” she said. “I never left the store the entire day.”
Other business owners along Market Street also reported having a good weekend, with some saying they had record sales for a fall antique festival, said Katherine Birkbeck, executive director of Historic Downtown Clinton, sponsor of the event.
There were some concerns early on about whether there would be a Clinch River Fall Antique Festival this year because of the downtown construction, which is reshaping and renewing the streets and sidewalks in the historic shopping district.
Market Street has been closed to traffic since mid-July, and the street and sidewalks have been torn up. Part of Main Street was closed beginning in late August for similar work.
But Clinton’s Public Works Department got most of Main Street open for the weekend festival, and was able to create pedestrian access to the front doors of the Market Street antique stores and boutiques.
“I think the festival went great,” Birkbeck said on Monday. “I know there was a lot of doubt about whether we could pull this out. But I have heard a lot from our merchants that they had record sales.
“I’m really proud of what we were able to accomplish under the circumstances,” she said. “It was a lot of hard work.
“Friday was busy, but Saturday was massively busy,” Birkbeck said. “The goal was to make it a great festival, and Public Works doing what they did to get the streets ready literally brought tears to my eyes. We were able to accommodate so many guests.”
Market Street was not open to the normal flock of vendors who normally operate booths there, but they were able to set up in a section of the city’s Commerce Street parking lot and on part of that street, and they drew mobs of shoppers, especially on Saturday.
“There was a big concern about not being able to put anything on Market Street,” Birkbeck said. “I think people genuinely wanted to come.”
Coming next to downtown is the Christmas Open House on Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 1-2, sponsored by the Historic Downtown Merchants Association.
Next, after Thanksgiving, comes the Clinton Christmas parade and downtown Cookie Crawl.
“Market street is supposed to be finished by Thanksgiving, but not Main Street,” Birkbeck said. “We’re still trying to work out the route of the Christmas parade. But it will still happen.”
All downtown construction should be finished by the time of the spring antique festival, she said.